The invention relates to a heating appliance for railway vehicles according to the preamble of claim 1.
In known heating appliances of this type, the heating elements which are configured as heating foils are glued onto conventional floor panels already laid in the carriage of the railway vehicles and covered with a floor covering. This mode of construction has the drawback that individual heating elements cannot be easily exchanged in the case of damage. Instead, the disassembly of the heating elements and the electrical connections for the heating elements require a relatively high outlay in terms of time, other assembly work in the railway vehicle possibly being blocked at the same time. Furthermore, the heating foils are not tightly sealed, so that penetrating moisture can damage the heating foils. Furthermore, it is to be regarded as disadvantageous that materials adjoining the heating elements, normally wood, rubber or plastics material coverings are generally poor conductors of heat. Consequently, temperature peaks occur in the region of the heating elements and impair the heating output or lead to an unnecessarily high energy consumption in order to reach the desired temperature in the passenger compartment of the railway vehicle.